Is the U.S. Ready To Enter Syria?

4/29/2013 9:22AM

President Obama faces mounting pressure from lawmakers to help put an end to Syria's civil war. This while Damascus has developed a top-secret air-defense system. Washington Institute's Andrew Tabler has analysis. (Photo: AP)

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... the ... digital weapons if they get loose from Syria and there are a bunch of them ... he is incredibly destabilizing to the Labonte to the Middle East to southern Europe ... BRY is busy here ... Iran is very busy here ... and so is has a lot ... so um it it's just one of those things that we got I think that we can beat the their costs from activists and on the sidelines and do nothing ... is a huge mistake but goes the world is watching ... good morning breaking news out of Siri this morning Syria's prime minister escaped an assassination attempt today it when a bomb went off near his convoy in Damascus ... meanwhile as you just heard President Obama faces many ... complicating factors is Congress's industry pressures him to intervene ... among the latest Russian anti aircraft missile systems recently acquired by the Syrians ... help us sort out how and whether in the U S should get involved in Syria's civil war ... special guest injured Keebler of the Washington Institute joins us into good morning ... good morning ... still ... you first off it ... let's talk a little bit about the pressure that it's it's the facing the president right now ... how we ... do how we add to it when you've been talking alot about ... really series at risk of being taken over by extremists and that's a complicating factor ... it's not just to ... be taken over by extremists and we see more than that they're not all the opposition's forces ... which is going to be broken up into the generally three parts ... was left of the regime ... a Sunni Arab version ... of Syrian meddling in the credit for and he soon all be seriously at U S designated terrorist organizations ... which are very active and not in this or Vanguard forces ... that combined with the fact that Syria has the largest stockpile of chemical weapons in the Middle East ... means that this is not something that I believe America can ... you can ignore the question is how to respond in order to contain the situation and move forward ... and respond ... answer I think ... I think they believe that this point we have stopped right is due to the minister of Syria operation from the top down ... try to date the Russians into a security Council resolution that they're not simply re back ... and we can deliver on anyway ... um and said we're victims of the ground up and really it was seen as the reason is that Syria is just now ... increasingly BOC ... divided country and the only way she ... is in the ground up in that case the tough decisions from our part ... in dealing with armed groups in Syria ... and not simply trying to treat the symptoms ... of this year prices by extending antennae ok but it is is that so simply done ... no it's not it's a very complicated and ... in the more we wait the more complicated and will become ... the best ways to crises where and in really were looking at here that ... we have a lot of allies runners I ... mean that a lot of armed groups inside Syria ... but it is going to look in the armed groups in backing and we should back some of them I think the to do deserve our limited support and not just on the long and not legally ... but also illegally as well but it is in contrast it with the fact that over half the ceiling on leashes on new ... disease via the light levels ... island vessels ... and also the number of displaced persons were have been ... held inside Syria because they already neighboring countries ... are on their Turkey Israel Jordan ... and Iraq will become overwhelmed and impossibly de stabilize and that ... feels it'll only stabilize the security architecture and at least ... one thing but for of for us that the president of Syria has acquired to protect himself ... are anti aircraft missile systems from the Russians which ... the president is is saying is that if they were reporting that basically who wanted to Institute a no fly zones would make it more difficult ... let's talk a little bit about president aside ... the EC he's ... been allied with Iran he has helped support terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas ... and yet ... without him ... what's left ... well be that was less this year aided by a country ... essentially in the euro in in a number of other areas that the city or ... country you have ... opposition forces which are very active wrestler there so we have some extremist forces the al Qaeda affiliates ... balls and Kurdish areas ... of the art Ross and his is not whether he should go or not he should go because of the death and destruction caused in most importantly ... trusted doesn't control the entire country and on and a big problem is people United States ... of these release because until now the only useful in the Senate ... I was that he was able to get control of its weapons and ... inky to keep the peace and Syria that's no longer the case will never be the case ... for him ever again over on Geographic's here ... on a part of it ... that that part will be sold together with Levanon and more dependent on Hezbollah than any other time it's been a bad news ... for the US and delever Israel a time when they are confronting ... Iran over its nuclear program and and yet at andrew that when the problems we have but as we look at some of the anti aircraft ... systems this year is acquired when the Proms is it for what it what if you ... arm the rebels ... I mean we tried this in Afghanistan in the eighty s and that didn't end so well we we toppled Saddam ... but that empowered the Shia and in a way you can see that Iran was the ultimate Victor there ... yet I cannot now Iran will be the ultimate Victor years it's true the Whitney aircraft systems ... you make this operation harder but I believe the U S Air Force conducted I know the U S Air Force police cannot act in a similar call it the more we wait ... the more we lavish Ardi import the ... weapons more sophisticated weapons ... and we got a couple of years ago it would be much different story get much cheaper ... in this is where I think the unity in current dollars and cents in and these explanations about ... being in the US is higher going for ... I understand that sometimes the situation the gates to do something sooner rather later ... at least the Lions could backfire ... it could backfire since that if we if we are rebels ... that we end up having a situation like we had ... in ... say Afghanistan post the the Russian were there these ... I'm a skies ... also I think at this point though that the weapons are flooding in any way except being supplied by extremists and another people in the air call ... out we have no control over the weapons we have no idea where they're going ... in there should have been in places that we we we when life invest in that it's not that it's better better to get involved in this game ... in a smart way into an Groupon group was on the ground here you know we're talking about changing a change stereo recording your your balls reflect images more all that ... great thank you for